The African and Afro-Creole Heritage of New Orleans

A French Quarter Discovery

Why has New Orleans been called the "most African city in the U.S."?

This stroll through the French Quarter begins with the arrival in New Orleans of the first enslaved West Africans and describes the contributions, sacrifices, and lasting achievements of these people and their descendants through the colonial era and beyond. The tour also considers the emergence and flourishing of a vital free black population in New Orleans.

Let’s discover just how much the French Quarter reveals of this fascinating history, with its merchants and slaves, outlaws and pirates, craftsmen and scientists.

Among the highlights of this tour:

Life as a slave under the French Code Noir(Black Code)

The historic relationship between Africans and Native Americans in Louisiana

Sites where enslaved Africans were sold at auction

Congo Square, the birthplace of jazz, where slaves danced, played music, and held a market on Sundays

The impact of the émigrés from Haiti and the growth of the free black population in New Orleans

We’ll follow the trail of a diverse group of characters that include coffee seller Rose Nicaud, runaway slave Juan St. Malo, military drummer Jordan Noble, free black businessman and philanthropist Thomy Lafon, Sister Henriette Delille of the Sisters of the Holy Family, voodoo Queen Marie Laveau, and many others.